Special Officer Enrique "Yaqui" Rivera

Enrique "Yaqui" Rivera

Special Officer Enrique Rivera was shot and killed while attempting to break up a disturbance at a local dance hall. He was inside the dance hall when he heard two gunshots fired outside. When he went downstairs to investigate he was shot three times. His body was found in the street by a police captain. He was transported to Emergency Hospital where he succumbed to his wounds later in the evening.

The suspect was apprehended several months later and sentenced to death. The death sentence was commuted to life in prison on July 30, 1925. In October 1926, the offender escaped from Blue Ridge Prison Farm in Hobby, Texas along with two other inmates. None of the three were ever recaptured.

Special Officer Rivera served as the driver of the city's chain gang truck and held a special police commission. He was a WWI veteran. He was survived by his wife and young daughter.